The present invention relates to agricultural irrigation, and more specifically, to an irrigation hose splice and method of making such a splice, including irrigation hose splices for irrigation hoses known as "drip tape" which are used to irrigate crops by distributing water substantially uniformly at discreet locations spaced along the length of the tape.
Drip tapes are more easily rolled, transported, and stored than are hoses which remain always round in cross section. Moreover, drip tape has become increasingly popular in row-crop farming because water is distributed to the soil immediately adjacent to the growing plants, and the entire field need not be irrigated. Strawberry growers, in particular, have almost uniformly adopted the use of drip tape.
A major problem hindering the further use of drip tape for agricultural irrigation of major crops is the cost of replacing drip tape or repairing existing drip tape. For example, most major crops have a value per acre that does not justify the continual replacement cost of new drip tape or the labor costs associated with the retrieval and reinstallation of used drip tape using conventional methods. One exception is strawberry growers who almost unanimously discard the old drip tape and replace it with new drip tape with each annual planting. Strawberries have a high cash value per acre, and therefore the cost of replacing drip tape is economically justifiable.
In addition to the cost of replacing drip tape with each crop, discarded drip tape is environmentally unfriendly. For example, one acre of strawberries requires approximately 12,000 to 16,000 linear feet of drip tape depending on the row spacing. Because drip tape is replaced with each crop, which is every year for strawberries, landfills are increasingly becoming strewn with used drip tape.
Over time the repeated installation and retrieval of used drip tape results in an increasing number of unjoined segments. Typically, there are many unjoined segments on the retrieved drip tape spool, even after only one use, because the drip tape segments are only as long as the particular row from which they are retrieved. Since the row lengths generally vary, the used drip tape segment upon reinstallation will most probably require a coupling because the used segment will likely be too long or too short for the new row length. This problem is compounded with each additional retrieval and reinstallation. Eventually, the high cost of the couplings and installation labor make the further use of used drip tape economically unviable.
Conventional repair methods for flexible hoses incorporate the use of injection molded plastic couplings to splice together the unjoined pieces of flexible hoses. Examples of such couplings are those sold by Agricultural Products Inc. under the designation TAPELOC FITTINGS.TM.. However, in addition to the cost of these couplings, these couplings must be removed each time the hose is retrieved because the coupling is rigid and therefore can damage the hose as the hose coils on the take-up spool. Removing the plastic couplings and reinstalling them each time the hose is re-used is time consuming and expensive, and thus limits the viability of re-using irrigation hoses as the required number of plastic couplings increases with each crop. Another disadvantage is that the coupler has a diameter smaller than the adjoining hoses and therefore can have a flow reducing effect.
Alternatively, another method of repairing hoses is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,635,504 issued on Jan. 18, 1972. Two hose sections are spliced together by cutting their ends diagonally, telescoping them over a fabric-reinforced uncured rubber sleeve, placing uncured rubber against the sleeve to fill a gap between the hose sections, bridging between the outer surfaces of the hose sections with a strip of uncured rubber, and curing the uncured rubber elements while applying compressive forces. This method, like the method involving rigid couplers, is time consuming and therefore similarly impractical as the number of segments requiring repair increases.
In view of the above, it should be appreciated that there is still a need for an irrigation hose splice and method of making such a splice that can be accomplished in a consistent manner with minimal amount of time and equipment, and results in an irrigation hose that can be installed and retrieved in the same way as new or undamaged hose. The present invention satisfies these and other needs and provides further related advantages.